Unilever and Nestle compete to buy GSK’s Horlicks business in India

Unilever and Nestle have emerged as the leading bidders to acquire GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) Indian nutrition business Horlicks, according to Reuters.

Sources familiar with the development said that the deal could be around $3bn as GSK owns a 72.5% stake in India’s GSK Consumer Healthcare, reports The Times of India.

A GSK Consumer Healthcare spokesperson was quoted by The Times of India as saying: “We are conducting a strategic review and expect to conclude that by the year-end.”

Nestlé India has so far refused to comment on the reports.

Other consumer product companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo were also earlier understood to be seeking to acquire Horlicks, which dominates the Indian health-drinks market.

“We are conducting a strategic review and expect to conclude that by the year-end.”

An announcement regarding the deal is expected to be made soon by GSK.

Kraft Heinz sold its health-drink brands Complan and Glucon-D for Rs45.95bn ($648.6m) to Indian pharmaceuticals and consumer company Zydus Wellness.

The acquisition is critical for both Unilever and as Horlicks is estimated to be four times the size of Complan. The deal involves accomplice brand Boost.

In May this year, Horlicks launched ‘Horlicks Mission Poshan’ campaign and selected Indian film actor Amitabh Bachchan as the campaign ambassador.

Horlicks Mission Poshan is aimed at supporting the Indian Government’s Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyaan, which focuses on the first 1,000 days of a child with the objective of addressing malnutrition, stunting and infant mortality.